Yolanda Lee Obituary

In my search for the Tong roots in America, we had spent a few fleeting hours in Chicago last years, but regretfully that was to be our last meeting. We wish sincerely good health for David and the family. May Buddha looks at our clan with maximum kindness. Nam Mio Ko Len Ge Kio.

David and family; Our deepest sympathy to you and your family. We will always cherish the memories of Yolanda. May all the happy memories comfort you now and in days ahead.

Clara and Guey

Dear David & Family,

Yolanda will always remain in our hearts and prayers. I have 60 years of beautiful memories beginning with her arrival in Chicago and taking English class in the restuarant and living in mobile homes on Brwyn Mawr Ave on what is now the State University.

May she rest in peace and you find comfort in all your memorable moments shared with her.

Cousin, Harry

IN MEMORIAM: YOLANDA T. LEE

We are gathered here today to bid farewell to and share fond remembrances of a very special person who touched all of our lives, my Aunt Yolanda. What made Aunt Yolanda special to me and to all who knew her was her warm personality and upbeat and positive outlook on life. She always showed an interest in our respective lives and we looked forward to periodic family gatherings such as birthday celebrations. She lived a long and accomplished life and was warmly regarded by everyone in the family.

Aunt Yolanda grew up in the ancestral village in rural Hoisan in China and emigrated to the U.S. along with her mother and brother (my Dad) to the United States in 1947, to be reunited with her father (my Grandpa) in 1947, after a 14-year wait. Grandpa had received U.S. citizenship after being drafted in the U.S. Army in 1941, changing the course of our family history. Through citizenship, Grandpa was able to put down roots and own his own business, a Chinese take-out restaurant, staffed by his family members. Aunt Yolanda learned to speak, read, and write English for the first time in Chicago, and later graduated from Peterson Elementary, Von Steuben High School, and University of Illinois at Chicago, which, by the way, were all schools that I later graduated from. She was the third generation of our branch of the Tong family; her grandfather had worked in Chicago from 1906 to 1924 before returning to China.

Aunt Yolanda was a pioneer. She was the first member of the Tong family to earn a college degree, and she earned her masters in mathematics. She and Uncle David were amongst the first Chinese-Americans to graduate from college and work professional jobs using their degrees. Many of their Chinese friends and relatives just a few years before them were unable to find work in their fields of study due to pervasive racial discrimination, and continued to work in the restaurant and hand laundry businesses by necessity.

Aunt Yolanda chose to be a high school mathematics teacher, a rewarding career spanning over 30 years, culminated by getting her desired transfer to Lane Tech twelve years before her retirement. You might say that teaching runs in the family. Aunt Yolanda’s grandfather and father did some short teaching stints while in China. I’ve moonlighted as a college earth science teacher for the past 20 years, partly because my aunt was a teacher.

Aunt Yolanda always thought of and looked after family members. When my dad got drafted in the army during the Korean War, he and Auntie wrote letters to each other every week. I’ve known Aunt Yolanda since I was a baby. Grandpa and Aunt Yolanda visited each other almost every week when I and my cousins were growing up. Steve, Gilbert and I were separated by less than 3 years, and we grew up together very close. My sisters, Betty and Dolly, and cousin Annette also had their own trio a few years later. My very earliest memory was seeing Cousin Steve in a baby walker. I’m 15 months older than Steve, so he must have been between 6 and 9 months old at the time, and I would have been about 2 years old. It wasn’t until 1990 that I saw an old 8 mm film that Uncle David took of the event, that proved what I had remembered wasn’t a hallucination. My fondest memories of childhood were Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and the weekend and summer week-long sleep overs at both households.

Thank you, Aunt Yolanda, for the love and kindness you brought to me and the family. We will remember you fondly and we are inspired by your wisdom, grace, and courage.

William K. Tong
November 2, 2007

I was so sorry to hear about Aunt Yolanda's passing.

Wishing you comfort in the days ahead. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

Annette and Family:

We're sorry to hear of your loss. While we never met your mother, she must have been a wonderful person to have raised such a caring and loving daughter. Our prayers and thoughts are with you and your family during this difficult time.

Peace and love,
Dan and Kristen Williams

David,
Deepest sympathies to you and your family on the loss of Yolanda. We will keep her in our prayers.
Len and Elaine Louie

Our deepest condolences to you and your family.
Yolanda will always be in our memories.

Sau Pan Leong & family (Singapore/Denver-CO/Austin-TX)

Bill,

Sorry to hear about the death of your aunt.I pray God to give you and your family the strength to bear the loss.

Dear Annette and Family:
We are so very sorry to hear about your mother's passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Please let me know if there is anything you need.

Love, Jackie, Grant and Rowan Jansen

Our thoughts and prayers are with you David, Steve, Gilbert and Annette. We will always remember Yolanda's warm heart and beautiful smile.

Mary Jane and Nicholas Lee

Our deepest sympathies and prayers to David and his family. We will cherish our memories of Yolanda and the joy she always brought along.
The family of Ah Fung Leong Lee

Our prayers and heartfelt sympathy to you David and your entire family. Yolanda will be dearly missed.

Our sympathies and prayers to you David and your entire family.